I suspect that the number of releases each week can be used as an indicator of the economy. When I started writing these columns, each Tuesday between October 1 and December 26 would have over 1000 releases to sift through. For the past three years, those same weeks have been in the 170-250 release range. This week is up to 396, which I take as a sign of recovery.

Blaine: This cast and director still appeal to me, but I haven’t heard good things about the finished product. An extended cut that runs 17 minutes longer than the theatrical cut could be either the best or worst thing for the movie.

Blaine: This was “must see” TV for me when I was a kid. This was before I started reading credits. Had I been reading them, I’d have noticed the name “J. Michael Straczynski” in a very prominent position. One of the least intellectually insulting merchandise tie-in shows I’ve ever seen. If they had something we could refer to as a “budget,” this could have been incredible.

Finally, the picks of the week. Alex says, “I’m Netflixing Portlandia – I don’t have cable, so I didn’t get a chance to watch it when it first ran. However, the clips of it I’ve seen have been absolutely hilarious – and it helps that the show’s writers live here, so they really understand my fair city.” Blaine says, “Criterion putting out Hitchcock on Blu-Ray is generally the hands-down winner any week. This time around it’s The Lady Vanishes.”

They are still releasing legacy titles on Blu-Ray. The proportion of soft core porn is also up considerably this year, which could be an indication that the producers think they can compete with the Internet’s free supply again.

I don’t claim to be an economist, but I think it’s looking better than it has been. Granted, it’s not close to the 1200+ weeks we had a decade ago, but it’s up from 2009 or 2010.